The German Perspective of WW2 | Memoirs Of WWII #49
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 11 พ.ค. 2023
- Growing up in Germany, Wolfram Forster watched as Adolf Hitler rose to power and launched his country into the Second World War. Before long Wolfram would be called upon to serve, eventually engaging in combat against the American and British Armed Forces.
Purchase Dr. Forster's book "Farewell, Berlin" here:
www.amazon.com/Farewell-Berli...
Memoirs of WWII Website: bit.ly/2w60kGM
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Written and Directed by Hudson Louie and Joshua Scott
Filmed by Heather Scott
Edited by Hudson Louie and Joshua Scott
Post Audio by Lane Tarr
Photo Enhancement and Colorization by Hudson Louie
Archive Footage Sources:
www.archives.gov/
Norris Aeroworks
Archive Photo Sources:Voice Of America
creativecommons.org/licenses/...
creativecommons.org/licenses/...
Ministry of Defense of Ukraine
Primary Musical Score Source:
artlist.io/
Artlist Songs and Composers:
“Skies Above” by Caleb Etheridge
“Coming Back” by Yehezkel Raz
“Dark Tension” by Kyle Preston
“This Place” by Ben Winwood
“Nacht Oder Nie” performed by Walther Ludwig Heute, acquired from www.archive.org
So similar to my Grandfather. Fought in the German Wehrmacht in WW2, Came to America after the war only to fight in Korea. He flew an American flag in his yard until the day he died in 98. RIP Grandpa.
Looks as though your grandad appreciated America good to read
Omg!
He was a hero
@@EddieJackson-xl2jp not everyone who fought in the German army during WWII was a nazi... the Wehrmacht was not the SS...
glad to know he found redemption
i'm korean fyi
Whenever my grandpa told me this story he cried.
He was a small child when Germans occupied Greece and he was hiding with the family in the mountains. One day they sent him to sneak in our house and find food, anything. Two SS soldiers caught him - the blond one yelled something in German, pointed his rifle and loaded a shot. The black haired SS looked at him with softer eyes, extended his arm and lowered the other soldier's rifle. He then gestured my grandfather to run away, which he did. He told me he never forgot their faces, decades later. That moment froze inside him.
It's crazy when I think that I exist this day because that SS soldier extended his arm and stopped his colleague.
Beautifully and well said. It is sad to read.
Damn nazi
Ah yes, the blonde was bad guy and black haired was good guy, huh? And it’s important to mention that part right? #JewishPropaganda
The Japanese did the same to my grandma when the Japanese invaded China
Was this in Crete your grandfather? I lived in Crete for a year when I was in the US Navy and I remember visiting the allied cemetery there
My Grandfather got spotted while on recon and had a group 4 German soldiers ask him to come out from hiding, alone under his jeep, so they could surrender. The saddest moment he ever shared was of comforting a wounded 'enemy' who did not make it. We owe that generation so much.
There were stories from the Desert Storm that were similar.
That is the greatest generation, my grandfather served. Also in WWII, he’s passed away already, but I think he would be rolling in his grave, just a think what we as Americans are going through with a man like Donald J Trump, spitting image of Hitler. It’s so sad.
@@moisesperez4605 that's A) off topic, and B) not even true lol. I'm guessing you're far left by saying this but come on dude. Also you typed this 3 days ago, I don't know if internet explorer has updated yet, but Biden's in the white house right now, not Trump. Just leave shit alone, Jesus. you gonna ignore Biden's clueless dumbassery like that then?
@@Rockhound6165 Bitter irony. GIs, including my grandfather risked their lives to destroy fascism, and 1/3rd of our country blindly worships a McDonald's-swallowing fascist...
@@nukeputin420 Joe Biden eats McDonald's?
In 1973 i was stationed in Germany where my first child was born. My in-laws came to visit and my FIL was a WWII vet. One evening he went exploring around Gieblestadt. My MIL had me go look for him and I found him in a local Gasthouse sitting at the Stammtisch hoisting brews with some old German soldiers and swapping war stories. What a sight.
What a heartwarming story, which made me tear-up. Both your father-in-law and German WWII vets were boys fighting a war, not of their making. The WWII generation exhibits wonderful humanity by the way they live/lived, for their bravery, patriotism and willingness to forgive. They are “The Greatest Generation.”
🤨. Sounds like he was fraternizing with the enemy. Not cool.
@@sec9788what rubbish are you talking about ?
@@denisek292Sad ! That the Imperialist , Fascist , Japanese soldier didn't receive much of any sympathy , empathy for their brutal , fanatical / tenacious fighting on , not just the hellish , bloody island hopping , and Asian Mainland fighting too !!
@@sec9788Can you shut up to just enjoy a good story.
This is why you can't automatically condemn any soldier just because they are on the opposite side. Alot of soldiers on both sides aren't there because they want to be.
I always try to imagine myself in their place and realise i would probably be to afraid to refuse,brainwashed or just focused on surviving and not thinking about the bigger pictures
Easy to say "i would have" but not so easy to actually do
@@Destroyer120296 Thats exactly what I do, you have to try and forget anything to do with your own life and situation and put yourself in their shoes. If I was forced to go and fight a war that I was against but my family and myself could be at risk of imprisonment or worse if I didn't go then I think I would go and fight the war.
@@johncapewell7520 My grandfather was too young to be drafted into WW2. He was born in 1930 on august 25. He died on February 15 2023 at ripe age of 92. What he witnessed contrary to after war belief is that Partisans slaughtered a man in open field for not providing enough food for the communist party. Funny part is my grandfather believed in communist ideology, just some 10 year before he died he realized how much of a scam the whole shit has been. The top brass has been fucking actresses, ballerinas, models and so on. Drinking cognac, whiskey and expensive vine. While regular communists had a stable low paying job leading to nowhere financed by loans. And it broke apart long before 1991 when civil war broke out.
People who say stuff like "All Nazi soldiers were evil bad people" or "I would have refused to fight if I was them" are fools who lack critical thinking skills. To think some kid that got conscripted to fight a war is evil is just plain ignorant, nearly everyone in that position would do the same thing.
No one is forcing them to kill other people. If many are following orders of a few and youre one of them, youre just another fool at the front line.
I met an elderly German man, maybe 92 or 93 years old, living in America about a decade ago. I couldn’t miss the opportunity since there were so few WW2 veterans left to speak to, so as respectfully as I could, I asked him, “Did you fight in the war?” He grinned slightly and raised his eyebrows and said in a thick accent, “Yes… the for *other* side!” I said, “Wow, you must have some interesting stories.” And his smile faded, and he said, “No… No stories.”
It's such a shame...some were just men doing what a tyrant told them
Im come from a country who fight it last "international" war between 1879-1884. Long time ago. Two brothers of my grandather's grandfather fought in that war. One of them was embarked on a warship who was in some brutal naval battles, including one when the enemy main flagship was captured. He had medals and ribbons for that, but is told that when someone ask him about the stories of the war, he always said the same, with sad eyes. "No stories".
@@revenanthate9030every leader can be considered a tyrant. Don't forget, not a single country did a single thing when Germany was liquidated the Jews
@@revenanthate9030 a tyrant that was voted by a majority of germans* be clear.
tough memories some are just incapable of speaking of. no shame with that
I had the supreme honor of meeting Dr. Forster and designing his book for him. His story is unbelievable, how he escaped certain death a number of times, including during his time in various prison camps after the war. The story of how he reunited with his parents is one of the most touching moments I’ve ever read. Dr Forster is a wonderful, wise, and kind gentleman, and I highly recommend his book. You won’t be able to put it down.
Name of book?
@@pippa212 "Farewell, Berlin"
@@loery That is so funny in the sense that I can still detect his Berlin accent (I´m German, but very far from Berlin, but love the accent). I have been looking for a comment that reveals his home town to see if Berlin was correct. Thank you for providing the title.
I have read a number of memoirs and seen a number of interviews from ww2 veterans from all sides. And they all share a link in common. Every. Single. One. said something to this effect: "I am proud of my service, but NEVER again." This is the real and most valuable lesson these elders teach us. Those who want war are always the ones who are unwilling to fight them.
This man fought as a Nazi then an American what an incredible story!!
Wars are for old men who don't have to fight and young men who don't yet know the horror.
@@Anybodywannapeanut3Not sure if he fought as a „Nazi“. Of course many Germans at the time were Maui’s but I don’t think most of them were dedicated ones, more like the normal person doing what is opportune to do in society to be a part of it.
They really need to interview Hugo Broch. He's the last surviving German ww2 flying Ace. He is currently 101 years old.
(Edit): Hey wow didn't expect this comment to get so many likes. If anyone knows how to contact him that would be amazing.
To the people in the comments below arguing about the war I'd recommend the book "A thousand shall fall" by Susi Hasel Mundy.
It's a true story is about a man who served in the Pioneers in the German Wehrmacht in WW2. Like the Desmond Doss story he never carried a gun in combat. Franz hasel, a 40-year-old pacifist, was drafted and assigned to Pioneer Company 699, Hitler's elite troops who built bridges at the front lines. He carried a blackened piece of wood in his holster the entire war and would warn jews before the SS got to them on the eastern front. Not every German in the army believed the propaganda or wanted the war. This book is a great example of that. It also dives into his wife's experiences back at home and the hard choices they had to make as civilians.
Thats got to be so hard to get access to someone like that. Hard to believe he's still alive.
@@msau9747 Surprised he isn’t behind bars
@@hudsonumiwhy should he be behind bars?
@@hudsonumi for what
@@hudsonumi not all Germans in ww2 commit war crimes
His story about the trial for a man who was sentenced to death for just being worried really hit me. 😢
Mason: That's why there needs to be checks and balances at the very start. Once one side has total power these things can and will happen. MAGA or a supporter could be a future target.
Like how the one guy being imprisoned for posting memes about Hillary Clinton. Biden administration is following in the steps of totalitarianism it seems like he’s arresting all political opponents.
@@jgstargazer Lmao you really just said maga could be targets like it isn’t the side that is plagued with and rubs shoulders with overt neo-nazi groups
The USA is headed in that direction if we don't wake up
@@jgstargazer looks like white people in general will be the target in America soon. You can see it building up to that. Not like it happens over night. Slowly working their way towards it
My great grandfather was an ambulance driver in the Army in Finland (I'm born and raised in Sweden) during WWII and their wars with the Soviet Union. I never had the chance to meet and get to know him, but my grandmother told me that he used to have horrible nightmares, screaming and sweating as he woke up. He had to chainsmoke cigarettes to be able to calm down. I can't even imagine what horrors he must have seen and experienced! He didn't care if he tended to a comrade or a Soviet prisoner of war. If he had some bread to share with them for example, he did❤ R.I.P. Great grandfather Emil
My loved Grandpa Willhelm from Hamburg was fighting at the Westernfront.
In my Childhood he tell me horrible war Storys. At this Time in my Age i cant realize .
I Know from my Father my Grandpa often screams and cry in and After nightmares. He was a Broken man. I have tears in my eyes to write this down. He was the lovliest an best Person i Ever knew. The Angel of the whole Familiy.
In the year 2000 he lost the fight against Cancer. Im miss him and my Grandma so much.
She lived in Hamburg at the Time of Operation Gomora. The Storys of her were frightened as Hell.
WAR is terrible
My condolences.
Thank you Barbara ❤
I’m glad you guys are interviewing the German perspective. We don’t get enough of a perspective from their side. I’m not talking about the politics but the average Wehrmacht soldier who fought for their country not for its leaders.
The German leaders also fought for their country.
@@brantdanger am sure you understand what he meant, dont try twisting his words to fit your view.
They did fight for their government and rightfully so. It's been 80 years. Time to start telling the truth about that conflict.
@@revolution1423 Many fought because they had to, late into the war Hitler forced a draft upon the German people forcing boys younger than 18 to fight. They HAD to fight or they would be traitors. All Germans were not evil as the history books would tell you. Just like all allied troops were not saints.
@@revolution1423 The “truth” or what you want to hear? WWII is one of the most documented conflicts in history with easily accessible accounts from all sides. The truth is widely known.
The Eastern front was for the Germans a living hell. My grandpa, as a Hungarian, went there in January '45 with 100 men at that time. He as one of the two that survived. He is still going strong today!
Dude, how old is he?
You should write his stories and share it with the world.
@@unclekenny1127 He is from 1930. He went there as a 15 year old. Believe it or not but he's still in competitions for table tennis 😜. There is a book on progress of his life, but a program like 'Memoirs of WWII' would be much more educative
@@jessemat7553 Wow, he's into table tennis competitions!
Now I want to learn to play that. Haha. Interesting stuff.
Thank him for his valiant effort fighting on the right side .
@@Rumpleforeskin77 you mean the nazi were the right side?
Before my father passed away at 90 years old, he started talking about his experiences, as a kid living just outside Amsterdam, and the German occupation of the Netherlands. The things he witnessed are mind boggling. Let's keep the memories alive.
but the Germans treated Dutch people well, didn´t they? as they regarded Dutch and other ethinicities similar to them.
@@Supernova1.980 Short answer: NO.
Ok@@John-hs2xx
Short answer. Many collaborated more than willingly and also delivered Jews wherever they could. Dutch love to present themselves as angels which they were by no means.
@@LazendraWe’re (USA) funding a war in a CERTAIN part of the world with a CERTAIN group of people…I think reparations have been made.
Hearing these stories brings tears to my eyes, I can’t fathom the horrors of those wars. God bless them.
this story..it's so strange.. I have heard it before, nearly 1 to 1 from my great-uncle - conscripted the same year at the same age, father served in WW1, sent to the western front, from the same region in Germany, very similar surrender story 'when the Americans arrived, just hands up, that was it', returned the same year in '46, also went to the countryside after for a bit, even the glasses in the background of the video stand in a similarly outfitted cupboard in his house... the lucky ones of that generation all went through the same thing
God bless Nazis??? What God is that? It's for sure not the God of the Jewish people!
Simply amazing that he survived the war then to become a US citizen and ultimately serve our country and rise through the ranks to become a Colonel....utmost respect sir! Amazing story and thank you for your service and dedication to your community and country... Hand Salute
I salute with you
As do I.
🖐🏻
"Hand salute"........what kind? 🤔
@@broflo3875 Offcourse the Global salute
Until you walk a mile in this man's shoes you will never understand. After watching this video, it brought tears to my eyes because this man reminded me of someone, someone who I can't stop thinking about till this day!
I was in the US Army in between 1989 to 1993 and in 1990, I was in Kaiserslautern Germany in a pub along with a friend. We were both 18 at the time and we were sitting up at the bar when I noticed an older man a few seats away on my right staring at me and my friend. The man looked to be in his mid 60's or so at the time and then he spoke to us. He said, "Are you American soldiers?" and clearly I could tell this man was German by his accent and I told him that we were American Soldiers.
The man then said, "Thank you for what you young boys are doing and thank you for being here!" We thanked him and both me and my friend were still trying to figure out who this man was. He then told us that he was a former German Nazi Soldier during WWII and he told us how sorry he was for the things he has done and he said that there hasn't been a day gone by in his life that he doesn't have regrets. He said he was our age at the time, scared and only did what he was supposed to do and if he refused he would be killed.
I told the man that he doesn't have to apologize to me or my friend. I told him we're just kids and we have no idea what you had to go through and we weren't here to judge him.
The man continued to talk with us for the rest of the night, buying me and my friend beers and then it was time to go. We shook his hand and then left. When we walked outside I told my friend, "We just graduated high school not too long ago and to think, we just got the best history lesson of our lives tonight!"
I am 51 now, I think about this man from time to time. I wonder if he was able to live a somewhat happy and fruitful life but it was clear at the time, the man had many regrets. I am sure some of you will judge him and maybe me for that matter but I am the one that experienced this and this sit down and he was the one who experienced what it was like to be so unfortunate to be an 18 year old male kid during that time.
God Bless all who fought during WWII and rest in piece!
Thank you for sharing this, may that man Rest In Peace. Did you get his name?
@@PK__44 Honestly I don’t remember if I did and I forgot or if he did at all it was a long time ago but he was a very nice man.
I also got to meet German WW ll veterans when I was in the Berlin Brigade 88-92 to include my ex- girlfriend dad who survived the entire war drafted in 38 survived the Eastern front only to be captured in Berlin by the Soviet army he spent several years in a Soviet prison. Joining the new German army and retired in 72 one hell of a man. I don't know how in the hell he survived.
We were road marching to Graf and an old man gave us the peace sign. Cool that was 83 or 84 Lt Col Tommy R Franks Commanding
@@ernestpaniagua1210 The mind can be very tough, the will to survive where many say F it and give up and just die
My grandfather was a WW2 concentration lair prisoner and survived because he was an engeneer and could build radios for the germans. He never spoke about the war, would tie up and become blank when thinking about it. I've only heard some stories of what he went through, death of his friends, starvation, death and disease everywhere.
My grandfather escaped Poland but his brother was killed in auschwitz and first wife killed by the Russians. He went through hell and so did his kids.
I’m so sorry for what your grandfather saw and endured…it’s unimaginable. He lived, and it’s a blessing you are his living legacy.
@@myview2543 I’m so sorry for your family’s tragic losses. My great-grandfather lived on the German/Polish border. He immigrated to America in the late 19th century. Unfortunately, his brother stayed-behind. Family members were split-up, and sent to various concentration camps, where most perished. The Holocaust tortured and killed innocents, but its evil denied us the joy and love lost from their deaths.
My german grandma was a child who had to look after her 2 younger siblings while her mum worked. Her dad never returned from the war. They had to flee their home when the russians attacked. They chose boat rather than fleeing in winter on foot. Most who did died from the cold and the russian bombs. She saw the boat that she had missed hit by something and sink, saw the bodies floating while on her boat. She ended up moving to the UK and getting married to my english grandad. Neither are still here. I loved her very much.
Because Russian soldiers were not protected by the Geneva Convention, as British and American soldiers were, the Russian POW's were treated appallingly, many met the same fate as the jews. So when the Russians invaded, they were told they could do what they liked in Germany.
@@adambrocklehurst4211 Stalin's regime was responsible for 50 million deaths across Russia and Europe and they were brutal everywhere they went.
@@adambrocklehurst4211the Russian weren’t saint. And to be frank by that time when the Russian invaded, the Russian government was already the Bolshevik running it. Massive numbers of Europeans were killed by the Russians (from east to west)
Became a doctor, and served in the us army after all that. Much respect
the US army, starting fake wars for 100 years..... Vietnam was a hoax, Iraq was a hoax, Afghanistan was a hoax.
let me quote General Patton before he was murdered, "we fought for the wrong side"
@repentandbelieveinJesusChrist2true
traitor
@@Toujeostfu
@@Toujeoagreed
Interesting memoir...reminds me of my grandfather....he was a German pilot in training in 1945...only 16 years old. The Luftwaffe forced him into a Bf 109, gave him no ammo, and was told to act as a "shield" following behind the experienced pilots so they wouldn't get shot down. Well, he got shot down on his second mission by a Russian fighter. He crash landed in eastern Germany which was under Russian occupation as they moved on Berlin. He said he escaped capture and made his way to the US where he drove a commuter bus in New Jersey for the rest of his life. I asked him why he chose that occupation. He told me because it was "A quiet job"....and in his humorous way that because, "Buses are hard to shoot down".
That is quite a story. Hats off to your grandpa.
Hope he is having a good quiet time.
🙂
Its one thing to get shot at. Its another to get at it the sky and without the ability to fight back. Brave man
That terrible and cowardly that they would use a sixteen year old boy as a human shield.
@@tiffanygrever8092 you do realize you're talking about nazi Germany right? That's the least cowardly thing they did
@@jlo7770 oh believe me I know there rap sheet but these stories still shock me the depth of how low they would go.
"Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it" - That's so true!
Made me cry, this story. There are no winners in war. So many lives of our dear people were lost in this brutality. War is always best avoided. Glad this man's life was not lost like so many others.
No no, USA and Russia won. Gloriously
At the History of Germany museum there's an exhibition about war orphans. There are pictures of children found alone wandering the streets. Some people found as toddlers and no one knew who they are and their parents were most likely deceased. They were given a names by the Red Cross and their last name is the village where they were found. There are people around who don't know anything who they were: their name, their age, their real birthday... they have no idea. I can't imagine .
Strikes me they are better off, than to grow raised by nazis.
😢
This is what breaks my heart. No kid should ever have to go through what those kids went through.
And their situation was not unique. This literally happened all over Europe and in Asia as well-countless kids lost their families due to acts of violence.
Here are some other facts about German soldiers
th-cam.com/video/9BjIYKq4CVk/w-d-xo.html
Children like that are also very exposed to exploitation in everything from child labour to sexual workers unfortunately💔😭
Its crazy how time goes by, as a kid in the early 90s there plenty of ww2 vets in their 70s and now theyre almost all gone. The Vietnam vets are now the age of the ww2 vets I remembered as a kid. These were all our parents and grandparents and the last of a generation and it's really depressing that this generation is dying out. I'm glad this channel is documenting it to keep their stories alive.
very well said
The young kids today won't even know this happened or just think it's like some kind of movie. Sad but they don't teach much in schools anymore. The further away we get from it, the more likely we are to repeat it.
@@brettb4452 THey still teach plenty about WW2 in school, although here in the US, it mainly focuses on the American part of the story.
Losing this generation is very evident in our politics today. The hunger for conflict is still there despite the horrors these people endured.
Perfectly stated
My godfather who raised me was in the Navy in WWII. He had so many intense and fascinating stories. He passed away in 2018 at the age of 98. RIP Bob 💙
When I was a kid one of my neighbors from across the street was a US Navy "lifer" who served twenty years and he was at Pearl Harbor on that fateful day. One summer afternoon when I was a teenager he invited me inside his kitchen and told me stories of that day and he even had pictures. He was a living, breathing history book who actually lived through it. I'll never forget the hour I spent listening to his stories and sharing the historic photos with me. RIP, (Bill) Mr Weidmaier.
My uncle was conscripted nearing the end of WWII at the age of 16. When they boarded the train. the trainstation was bombed and they fled from the train. He and a few others hid in the woods for several weeks untill the war finally ended. Those who returned and went to the frontline, were never to come home again. My uncle is now close to 94 and still alive to tell of it.
And today Ukraine grabbing 16 year old boys off the street to go die rather than negotiate for peace. Disgraceful waste.
Try and get him interviewed!
Coward.
He was fighting for the good guys bless him
He was smart and did the right thing. Hitler and his thugs were not worth dying for.
It is so nice to hear stories from all sides of the war not just the winning side. People so easily forget that the Germans were also just kids following orders like the allied soldiers and we are so quick to point fingers and compare them to the monsters that led them. Much respect to all veterans from all wars.
I agree they where all soldiers doing what they thought was right and following orders
But we also need to remember that Hitler didn't get his power by force. He was elected.
I don't have any respect to Russian soldiers for what they did to my relatives and country during 50 years ocuppation.
Most people don’t understand that the Wehrmacht ≠ the SS
@@ThePmcderm91 Even the SS isn't always the same. In the Beginn most SS-Men standing behind the Nazi ideals, but in the end many kids were forced into the SS.
Capturing these stories is truly a calling. Thank you for sharing.
My grandmother lived in Rotterdam during the was. The family was starving, and sent my grandmother to get potatoes from the trainstation. When she was trying to get some potatoes, she had to slam the side and hope for a potatoe to fall of. When she did this, she heard a click behind her. It was a German soldier clocked his rifle. When he looked at the small girl, he put his finger in front of his mouth to tell her to be quiet. He then slammed his hand against the train cart and she got as many potatoes as she could carry. Saved her family and thats why i am here!! There are good in the world......
Love this story, thanks for sharing
My grandfather is 99 and served in both ww2 and the Korean War as an MP. Although he never saw combat - fortunately, he has an incredible story having grown up in the dust bowl, losing everything as a result of that disaster, and then building a career in the Army.
He would love to share his story if you were interested.
Please thanks him for his service, I wish I could meet one of these heroes, they truely are tje Greatest Generation. Forever will I be grateful for his service and sacrifices. A Generation we stay in depth in greater than numbers. To those whogave their live, perished, and those who are still living among usGod Bless you,
. God bless the Greatest Generation!
Thank the great generation not many are still with us, if it wasn't for them we wouldn't be talking right now
No flighting during WW2? Perhaps as a non WW2 story about the dust bowl
Never saw combat? He was married, wasn't he?
@@m42037 If fools keep voting for democrats it will soon be the same in the states.
Definitely would like to see something from the Italian or Japanese perspective.
I was just thinking the same thing
There are actually plenty of documentaries out there of Italian soldiers on TH-cam
There is one specific book on Audible books by an Italian soldier. It will surprise you how poorly they were treated by the Germans. Mildly interesting
@@American4UAF mildly aha first time herd that xD
@@American4UAFthey deserved it
I read "The Deadly Brotherhood" some years back and it was incredibly impactful on my thinking and my views on war. It was about the infantry soldier in WW2 Europe and the one point that will always stick out in my mind was that as an American GI was guarding a line of German POWs as they marched by, he looked into a German soldier's eyes and all he could see was just another scared shitless 18-year old kid just like him, in a place that neither of them wanted to be for reasons that neither of them understood but were there solely because someone told them to go.
God bless you & your family for sharing these stories. Thank you for not allowing a huge piece of history to slip through our fingers.
My father taught radar, an emerging technology in WW2. He couldn't talk about it for 50 years bc of Official Secrets Act. Radar had a huge impact on the war. There is a neglected radar museum in London Ontario Airport which he helped to create. He passed in 2021 at age 100.
How old are you if your father is 102 in 2023?
Your father did a great thing. He helped hold back the tide of darkness that was Germany. If it wasn't for him and the millions of others who came from afar to save Europe, the world would be a darker place.
My ex-neighbor's FIL also did something similar in the US. He traveled around the country taking his wife and child with him installing and teaching the military about it. At war's end they were in CA where he stayed til '48 or '49. The military wanted him to 'join up' with a COL's commission but he refused since he was in his 40s - an engineer, too set in his ways (you know engineers), etc. He may have been working for Bendix - I've forgotten.
thats a myth, the only huge impact are the millions of soviets that gave their life... he says it on the video... going east was death, its like ppl cant understand the magnitude of eastern front...
I hope my sons and I can see that museum one day. Your dad must have been a brilliant man. ❤
My Opa fought in WWI for the Germans. After the war he emigrated to America. Hearing this story reminded me of him.
have he told you some stories from ww1?
Too bad he survived so you could be born and look up to nazis
Its entirely different; WW1 was a pointless waste of life mostly caused by elites either wanting a war or being too indifferent to stop it. Soldiers fighting for Germany in WW1 weren't fighting on behalf of evil.
@@JD1010101110Neither were they in ww2
@@kalajari1749 No, in WW2 they were fighting to wipe out the Jewish people and enslave the world.
Hearing a story like this brought back lots of memories of listening to great grandfather talking about ww2 as a German soldier, i also wish I could’ve heard more stories from my great great grandfather who fought isn ww1… RIP to all the fallen
Not everyone who fought for Germany was a Nazi. this gets lost in the plot a lot these days.
Exactly most of the soldiers on the normal German army I can’t spell the name were like 17 years old but the members of the ss were horrible people
I’ve been on a WW2 history binge the last few months and weirdly enough, the more I learn about the war, the more anxious I feel with the knowledge that the last survivors of it won’t be here for much longer. You don’t know how relieved I am to see their stories being documented. The most respectful (and responsible) thing we can do for them is to NEVER forget what they sacrificed so that we and our children never have to do the same.
Sadly, too many have forgotten what our forefathers fought and died for and now, Russia threatens to reignite an ember that could turn once again to rolling flame for years.
Pop a name on a marble wall and have a minute silence is how we remember our dead in the U.K. a load of bollocks if you ask me considering people can’t even name 20
Of the fallen in the war on terror let alone those who died between now and the retreat from Kabul for example. People die to be nameless biomass in our mind.
@@MrRedeyedJedi Its a US proxy war
The US has been slaughtering innocent pewople for 20 years
@@MrRedeyedJediits America at fault.
I was lucky and got so many stories from my grandfather, he was a submariner and was called up In 1941, I'm proud to say I have all his medals paper work and pictures, what a brave generation..thanks to all veterans
Who are you thanking here? German veterans? for what defending nazi regime and the holocaust? for invading all of europe?
You have good reason to be proud of your grandfather, as he was a hero. It’s wonderful he shared his WWII experiences w/ you, and how cool to have his medals and war memorabilia. He was part of “The Greatest Generation.” Military personnel and veterans are true heroes: Without them, our freedoms would perish.
What was the name and side of the sub?My grandad did 7 patrols on Dace SS247
I'm so thankful for what ya'll are doing. I went to some of the local colleges at two VA hospitals and asked if we could get some of the students to record the WWII Veteran's stories and was always met with a "no." I was able to record some stories and had Veteran's family members give me transcripts that the Veteran had recorded. There are so many amazing stories that will never be known. The stories I have from fellow Veterans and my family members I will always cherish and tell at nauseum, so they are never forgotten.
This is important work, well presented and narrated. I have donated through your website. Thank you for 'this' service!
He reminds me of my grandfather who was a German horse soldier during World War I. He brought his family to the USA in 1923. My mother, born in Hannover, was two at the time. What a great man Mr. Forster is, to have accomplished so much in his lifetime. He's a truly great American.
They are all just men in the end, fighting for their country and for what they are told is right... history is written by the victors. Thank you for sharing, Wolfram.
👌
Exactly this. My great grandfather and great uncles fought in the Wehrmacht. All told a very different story than what's in the history books. In fact my grandfather often wouldn't talk about it "if I tell the truth I'll be arrested" he would say
Tall this to the victim of holocaust… people like him cud been just soldier fighting for their home, but the story of wwII is something different
@@Marco-yv1fo there is no difference between the holocaust and what the new americans did to the native americans , america are hypocrites !
@@Marco-yv1fo to be fair, it's both this and that and we all know it, I think
Such a gift. Thank you for recording this.
I think I could spend my entire life reading and watching stuff about WW2. Amazing video.
Love hearing different perspectives of ww2. It’s crazy to me that he went from fighting against the allies for the nazi to serving in the U.S. military. Almost like mini operation paperclip.
*_Lots of Nazis made it to the USA and became American citizens._*
You shouldn't use the word "nazi" interchangeably with "German". It's like saying any American is a trumpanzee, it doesn't work that way.
@@dougerrohmer
Comparing nazis to MAGA supporters is a big reach my dude very shocking you did that
@@WolfBlade706 That's not my point, but there are people who would compare the Munich Putsch and Capitol Hill insurrection to one another. My point was that you can't call everybody in a country by the same label as the bossman up in Berlin or Mar-i-Lago.
@@dougerrohmer
Capital hill was an inside job 🙄
Did my civil service taking care of elderly ppl in Germany. Heard so many war stories. My father was sent out in the Volkssturm at the age of 14.We have a memorial wall at our local cemetery where many WWII soldiers from here are buried saying"I memorial of those who died and a warning to those who live". To bad, ppl forget so easily...
Thank you for sharing this story . I am very proud of my relationship with a Canadian WW2 veteran . He was on a Canadian ship that sunk a U-boat. He served as a commissioner for a local Navy unit in Vancouver . I lost contact with him but we had very good memories . Thank
You Bruce !
He simply told it like it was, no glory or hype. Much respect for those like him
That was the first time I watched a German soldier tell his story. And my heart broke for him as a boy. War is terrible for all involved. And my love, and respect, goes out to all the fallen regardless of what side you fought on. As they say. Death is the great equalizer of us all.
So your heart goes out to people who wanted to annhilate jewish people from this earth? hunt gay people, cleanse all the less than, and them kill anyone who stood in their way?
NAZIS ARE BAD, PEOPLE WHO FIGHT FOR NAZIS ARE BAD. this shouldn't be a difficult thing to understand.
And only the dead have seen the end of war.
@@alanroberts6663 Not according to Christianity
@@alanroberts6663 or norse mythology
@@alanroberts6663 or Hinduism
Good to see a different perspective
I asked my father about something...he served in the Pacific in WWII. He asked me what I thought they were fighting for, why he fought. He said they were told to go, they went. We went they were kids like us.
My Filipino father was a captain in the US Army when the Japanese invaded the Philippines right after bombing Pearl Harbor. He fought the Japanese until the enemy surrendered. He survived the war and retired as a Lt Col but his father, who was a colonel in the Philippine Constabulary, was KIA when his regiment was overrun in Mindanao. His older brother, a captain in the Philippine Scout, was KIA in Bataan. So I never got to meet my grandad and uncle.
These videos are gems... After few more years, none would be there to tell first hand experience.
I am 70 this month and served my country for ten years in the 70's. Now, once again, as it has always been, one man is responsible for so much death and destruction of good people just trying to survive. I am glad you did Sir. We as a species need to change before time runs out. Respect to you.
it wasn´t just one man back then and it is not just one man now. to really believe this is very naive.
thank you for your service
It’s called the military industrial complex. The people who actually run things are nameless and faceless in the west, but hellbent on destruction
There's never just "one man" responsible for so much death and destruction. That sounds like something a woman would say. Churchill and Roosevelt lied their people into another war with Germany. Stalin amassed a giant military (bolstered by the US) poised for invasion, but beaten to the punch with Operation Barbarossa. Roosevelt, Churchill and Stalin - three complete bastards that caused unfathomable suffering.
And this is why I donate. You guys are one hell of a group of people. These stories could absolutely re-write history in some form or fashion. CHEERS!!
underrated channel, thank you for your stories
Incredible story , Incredible Human Being ❤ Hats off !! Love you Sir !!
I'm so glad this channel exists. To hear all these stories that are so full of life and experience. The terrors and horrors, The great and good.
Nothing is more valuable than history because it can't be replaced, only forgotten and with a wonderful channel like this, it gives us hope that it will never be forgotten.
Thank you so much.
So many perspectives on a single topic. It seems endless.
war crimes by the american army must never be forgotten
@@bergmann. so are war crimes of all armies. Don't just paint one cat black and ignore the rest. You must be dreaming.
The lesson of your work is to listen to the words of our elders, the people who've lived a life and learned it's lessons the hard way. No matter the country they come from, each has a story worth listening to. It's up to us to decide what we do with the stories they share. We are the ones who decide what our lives will be like today. Bravo on your work and thank you, Wolfram, for sharing your story.
One of my favorite people I ever met had been a young cadet on a submarine for the German Navy. I remember him telling me how he thought that the most blessed day of his life was when he was captured and taken as a POW, by the English army. He moved to America and raised his family and was one of the kindest, most gentle man I’ve ever met. He was so tall, and I remember when he shook my hand, my hand disappearing into his because his hands were so large. You were a wonderful human being Mr. Stenchley…. I’m glad you survived the war and we’re so blessed.
After all those years, the way he began to tear up about the letter from his mother.
Did he shed a tear for the civilians they killed for getting in the way?
@@strfltcmnd.9925 true that. I guess that’s war. So many civilians killed. Of interest, my Nan (in England during ww2) was walking down the St, she heard a plane screaming down and it was German, he fired at the crowd and the woman beside her was killed. For nothing. So senseless. I appreciate your opinion 👍
@@strfltcmnd.9925 You heard what the man said. His mission was to enter the town and get the civillians out of there and also if you say the wrong thing you are dead. Not ever single soldier was hitler or a SS member. These are the civilians of Germany they had no choice to fight. Thats what a draft is.
Do you think she or he shed a tear for all the mothers and their children he went to kill for their Fuhrer??
@@kylemenos To enter the town and get the civilians out of there?? Lol, bro, I'm from Poland and that's not what my granny who witnessed the German invasion told me, I can assure you there was no "evacuation" of civilians! In fact, go online and see what your beloved German soldiers did to Warsaw, the capital of Poland!
When he describes the moment he surrendered to the three G.I. When he realized he was a survivor and the war was over for him….it brought tears to my eyes. We are all humans 😢
Except some people choose to be monsters and fight for evil. he should spent the rest of life in a cell.
Not them though, they killed people for fun.
@@JD1010101110 Are you American?
@@user-gl3yk9nm3rhes weird
Excellent memoir! Thank you for creating this content.
A remarkably crisp personal account from a unique point of view. Excellent.
I really enjoy hearing the other side's experience too.
My great-grandfather was in Germany during WWII. He even went through Hitler's castle. His health is not doing so great now, but the man is a all American icon with the life he has lived. Elvin Bridges from Oregon County, MO.
How is he
I appreciate everything you guys are doing ❤️ keep up the good work
Idk how I just discovered this channel and I absolutely love this I’ve been telling my friends and family about how much I wanted to do this thank you so much for what your doing every person has a story/a book /a movie about them and your doing it I’m only a min in the video and had to pause it to say this
I would’ve loved you to interview my grandad - he served in the RAF as a pilot during WWII. However, sadly he passed away in 1990.
I really appreciate all the work that you do with your channel and thank you for sharing Wolfram Forster’s memories here. The story about the dentist just speaking his mind stunned me, I can’t imagine living in a society like that. To have lived and breathed it is really something else.
Thanks for this German soldier's perspective. Power hungry men still exalt themselves and their agenda.
like every us american
@bergmann. Not every American, but more than there should be.
Every is a Xtra large paint brush, and it's simply not applicable here.
@@bergmann. Show us all by pointing at a doll where the American touched you. ❄️
Despicable men
Thank you so much for doing this. I’ve always wanted to talk to people who been there all the wars it doesn’t matter. They all have a story to tell so amazing I love history.
Very respectful and well presented thank you. Thank you to all soldiers of the WWll as well as support staff.
Omg, drafted November '44, my own Granpa was drafted for Wehrmacht December '44 one month after his 16th Birthday. It is so unreal to me, grown up in Peace, being forced to fight at such a young age. Kudos to Wolfram he is a brave man no matter which side he was on and his story deserves to be conserved!
No he is a coward and bully. No one is forced to do anything there is always a choice, to do right or do wrong. He fought for evil and if he had sucked at his job there would be no jewish people, no gay people, no utermensch...
He could have refused. And yes, it matters which side he was on. It matters very much.
He was on the side of of the invaders, occupants, war criminals, monsters who committed some of the worst attrocities in human history. PURE EVIL. Neither your grandpa nor Wolfram are heros or victims. Trying to present then as such is like spitting in the office of the innocent victims of the Nazi German ideology, which the wider German population was supportive of. Deal with that.
"Say the wrong word and you're dead." Seems like we're getting closer and closer to that again.
The Greatest Generation fought and died and here we are as a society about ready to lose it...
No, not even close. Modern society arguably being too sensitive and prone to overreacting, even if the consequences can be very serious, is nothing compared to arbitrarily detaining and executing hundreds of thousand after putting them through sham trials, unless you're "lucky" enough to be deported to a concentration camp instead. Not even close.
I couldn't agree with you more! Just look at how much many of us are censored because we don't agree with a certain "Agenda" especially in the last 3 years.. It boils my blood what disgrace the U.S. has become, the enemy is within! And History is repeating itself on a whole new level....
Thanks to Putin yes
@@m42037 dont need putin for that
look at your own politcians
@@tavish4699 I keep hearing that the average man's testosterone levels nowadays are jaw-droppingly lower than they were just 60 years ago. Assuming that's true, I can only wonder how it's affected us men nowadays in regards to our collective decisionmaking. If these men were in our shoes, how would they react? And if we didn't have that difference, would we do the same as they would? 🤔
Thank you for bringing their stories to us. What you do is more important than you know, and the record of each indivworld. Personal history can now be shared with the worls.
my great grandfather served in the Luftwaffe, and he never talked about the war. He has since passed, and my great grandmother just celebrated her 102nd birthday. I understand their scars, and why neither of them had ever talked about what they experienced beyond when they were evacuated from Berlin, and their siblings all being killed on the Russian front. All that remains from that time period are a handful of pictures of young men in uniform, and unmarked graves somewhere east. I cannot begin to imagine what they thought and felt. I'm just fortunate to have had them and loved them.
Well at least he's joined his siblings in hell, your grandmother sounds like she'll be down there too soon enough.
@@JD1010101110you must be Jewish. How’s the battle with Hamas going? On the news it is showing more IDF coffins coming back than Hamas getting killed. In 10 years the world view will not held Germany today as accountable for WW2 atrocities as one they’re not like that anymore and two the Germans today aren’t the past. However, in 10 years people will still see the Zionist state an a genocidal state that wipes out a native land and is the cause of the illegals of immigrants pouring into Europe.
@@JD1010101110wtf man
Lol.
Young murderers in uniform*
I think it’s literally impossible to watch these kinds of videos regarding veterans on either side tell their stories and not shed tears of sadness. At least that’s what happens to me.
Remember he was a monster fighting to irradicate the jewish people. If you want to cry for some cry for all the poor people, starved, gassed, and experimented on by the axis.
Very enlightening. THANK YOU.
Excellent production and presentation, thank you for honoring this man.
It’s so important to document individual experiences like this. When I was age 9-12 I was living in North Germany, Schleswig-Holstein in a village called Brodersby where my parents were renovating a house. Living in a cottage down the road from us was a WW2 Vet named Herbert, who I spoke with a couple times. He was deaf in one ear from a Russian soldier shooting a gun next to his head while he was a POW. I only wish I was older back then so I could have asked him more about his life!
The first time I visited Germany was to Schleswig with college around 1998 visiting farms. I still remember the farmers wife making the best soup I have ever had.
With a teary eye, I say thank you! Wolfram's story needs to be seen by the entire youth of America so as we can avoid repeating this catastrophe at home. Bless you Wolfram Forster and your legacy.
Fighting for the white race will not be repeated anywhere in Western Civilization. The message spread by the Globalist Allies after WWII is "Whites cannot have a country of their own, anywhere on the planet". The antiwhites are firmly in control. You should be overjoyed.
Lol what? What are you even trying to compare there? Seems pretty insane to say this is being repeated in America. Just out of touch with reality.
@@DanelectroJazz If you are not openly looking, you may never find anything.
Watch Europa the Last Battle for the truth regarding WW1/WW2
Why? are you an actual moron? He was a coward and bully. He fought for evil, if he hadn't sucked at his job there would be no Jewish people in america, black people would be slaves again and gay people would be hunted? Why would you bless that?
This is such a great channel ! Thanks for doing what you do.
Such amazing work, this whole video!
Much respect to this man, and thanks to the whole team who shot this.
When i was growing up it was the ww1 vets dying off. Now its the second. These guys went through hell on earth on a global scale and every one of their stories are absoulutely remarkable. Hopefully we can see some more interviews in the coming years. Were running out of this living history
were u born in the 80´s?
@@Supernova1.980 yes
This is pure gold! Thank you. When they tell their stories, I feel like Im right with them in the trenches or cockpits or wherever they have served. I cant even imagine how painful it must be for Dr. Forster and other vets from WW2 seeing what is happening in the world today.
Amazing channel, great audio, high quality video, accurate roll footage, and solid commentary. God bless! ❤
You folks do very important work! Keep it up!!!
This is a great cause. Thank you for shedding light on what it means to be a real patriot. And to those patriots thank you for your service and sacrifices. They have not been forgotten
This is probably the most American thing one could say. The whole irony is that patriotism was what started the war in the first place.
Most Germans, me included, will frown on anyone who calls himself a patriot. Being proud of where you're from is not an achievement, putting your nation above others and their peoples is the root cause of so much suffering even to this very day.
Sorry, your thanking a nazi for his service?
I appreciate what you’re doing. Most WW2 vets are passing and their stories along with Korea and Vietnam should be told or they’ll be gone forever
excellent story. my parents were teenagers in Germany and Lithuania during the war. told me many many stories of what it was like. they came to america in the early 50s and cherished every day here.
Your channel is such a treasure.
My grandfather was in the Infantry of the German Wehrmacht. Respect to all soldiers.
We're all human at the end of the day.
As was mine.
Curse on Germany! Evil beyond!
@@betelgeuse_99 Nazis are not humans.
@@Pedrogog there is always this one idiot. congratulations!
Such a beautiful story of the German perspective. And the great man unfortunately is totally right about the fact that History is repeating it self as we speak. Thanks you for these great videos
Sad but true
“What we learn from History is that no one learns from History.”
Otto Von Bismarck.
@@duartesimoes508 Otto Von Bismarck didnt say that you dunce. Hegel did.
A great man? who fought to lengthen the holocaust? if that is your idea of greatest you are the risk of history repeating
And not in the way the media brainwashes everyone into believing, but the complete polar opposite.
This needs to be a movie with Paul Dano. What an incredible story!
First of all, thank you SO much for doing this. I'm a fellow doc filmmaker, and this is always something I wish I could've done so it gives me so much joy to see that you're out there making it happen and capturing these memories for future generations. You just got an instant Patreon supporter!
P.S. THANK YOU for exporting in cinemascope and not baking letterboxes into a 16x9 render, I can enjoy this on my widescreen monitor unlike even Marvel and Disney trailers that turn into a double-letterboxed nightmare.
Your enjoying a film about someone who should have been shot.
Woke
You cannot paint all Germans with a wide brush like some people do. This man was good through & through. Thank you for telling your story sir! I will be purchasing your book to show to my 11 year old daughter. That likes learning about history.
Most German soldiers were, it was the nazi minority that were the brutal heartless cold, calculative ones.
Right? A great many people so much as hear the word "Nazi", or put World War II and Germany together, and automatically vilify everyone not of the Allies. The atrocities are what they are, and some people genuinely were sick and twisted - but it was only certain people. The vast majority of the ranks were scared kids far away from home just following orders, absolutely no different than the Americans or the British. You have the inevitable extremists, but people would be surprised how not so different so many soldiers from either side were. Were it not for the circumstances, many of them would have been good friends. The real atrocity is war itself, and it should never have happened. Those who vilify all non-Allies forget the very lessons learned from war. Hatred and ignorance is the very reason these atrocities happened in the first place. Those who blanket all as evil simply for being on the wrong side are no different than the extremists who blanketed all Jews, etcetera, and killed MILLIONS of them. In the end, we are not so very different, in ways that would surprise, and appall us. We should learn to forgive, and to understand, to never let something like this happen again. Those who truly learn from war are friends with those they fought against. Those who leave with burning hatred learned nothing, and will only repeat the same mistakes.
People who do that are idiots and just wanna blame someone to justify their actions
The Germans were the good guys in WW2 despite whatever lies you've been taught in school. America should have helped them instead of Stalin and the communists. Now look at the clown world we are in. The only people who gained anything from WW2 were the ✡s.
These small docuseries are beautifully made. Well done finding these absolute gems of people to interview.